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-------------------- Ex-First Ladies Fete Betty Ford Center -------------------- By JEFF WILSON Associated Press Writer January 18, 2003, 10:03 AM EST INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Former first ladies Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse in elegant style. "When we admitted our first patients over 20 years ago, I had no idea that the Betty Ford Center was destined to become the nation's leading treatment facility for persons addicted to alcohol and/or other drugs," said Mrs. Ford, 84. The rare gathering brought the women and about 600 others who paid up to $5,000 per dinner to benefit the nonprofit center in Rancho Mirage. "It's a real sisterhood. We love getting together," Mrs. Carter said after posing for pictures with the other first ladies Friday night. They later mingled with a small group of friends in a VIP room adjacent to a ballroom. Mrs. Bush, wearing her trademark polka-dot dress and white pearls, chatted with talk-show host Larry King, while Mrs. Reagan, in a red gown, talked with Mrs. Carter and actor Kirk Douglas. Also in attendance were former Presidents Bush and Ford. The audience erupted in wild applause as the first ladies entered the room one-by-one to strains of "God Bless America." Mrs. Ford checked herself into a treatment facility in 1978 and her candor about her drug dependence is largely credited with helping break the silence for many alcoholics and drug addicts. The center named for her has since treated more than 56,000 people for various addictions. The black-tie gala, which was set to raise $1.6 million, featured a who's-who of Hollywood, business and political heavyweights and included videotaped messages from President Bush and first lady Laura Bush. Douglas and King were joined at the festivities by other luminaries, including Merv Griffin and Republican Rep. Mary Bono. New York's Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived late, and Ford Center officials said she had remained in Washington for the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee vote to name Tom Ridge as the nation's first Homeland Security Department chief. Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson, who turned 90 on Dec. 22, is still recovering from a stroke in May and was unable to attend, her spokeswoman, Betty Tilson, said Friday in Austin, Texas. "She wanted very much to be there. She loves Betty Ford very much and admires her," Tilson said. Money raised during the gala will help pay the bills of poor patients. Treatment at the 14-acre Betty Ford Center costs $16,500 for an average stay of 28 days. The center, which boasts nine buildings, dozens of medical professionals and 100 volunteers, treats nearly 160 patients at a time and has 100 beds on campus. Copyright (c) 2003, The Associated Press -------------------- This article originally appeared at: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-first-ladies0118jan18,0,2374401.story Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com
